They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys From Sudan by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak with Judy A. Bernstein
What can I say about They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys From Sudan by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak with Judy A. Bernstein that will convince everybody to read it?
Written by three Lost Boys who are also cousins – I could not put this memoir down. When Judy Bernstein met all three, now in their twenties, after their relocation from the refugee camps in Kenya to San Diego, they asked for simple things including pads of paper to write their story. What she read was not only heartbreaking but inspiring. Their words are simple but their experiences are anything but.
Book description from official website:
Benjamin, Alepho, and Benson were raised among the Dinka tribe of Sudan. Their world was an insulated, close-knit community of grass-roofed cottages, cattle herders, and tribal councils. The lions and pythons that prowled beyond the village fences were the greatest threat they knew.
All that changed the night the government-armed Murahiliin began attacking their villages. Amid the chaos, screams, conflagration, and gunfire, five-year-old Benson and seven-year-old Benjamin fled into the dark night. Two years later, Alepho, age seven, was forced to do the same. Across the Southern Sudan, over the next five years, thousands of other boys did likewise, joining this stream of child refugees that became known as the Lost Boys. Their journey would take them over one thousand miles across a war-ravaged country, through landmine-sown paths, crocodile-infested waters, and grotesque extremes of hunger, thirst, and disease. The refugee camps they eventually filtered through offered little respite from the brutality they were fleeing.
In They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, Alepho, Benson, and Benjamin, by turn, recount their experiences along this unthinkable journey. They vividly recall the family, friends, and tribal world they left far behind them and their desperate efforts to keep track of one another. This is a captivating memoir of Sudan and a powerful portrait of war as seen through the eyes of children. And it is, in the end, an inspiring and unforgettable tribute to the tenacity of even the youngest human spirits.
I could not put this book down. I really liked the alternating perspectives of the three cousins while continuing the linear timeline. The experiences that they went through often make me question why such horrible things happen to little children. And yet, they grow to be wonderful men who are full of life.
Call me a glutton for punishment, but as soon as I finished this one, I immediately began reading War Child by Emmanual Jal, the memoir of another Lost Boy conscripted to fight in the army. The Lost Boys have so many stories to share, and I for one will listen. This is a book that you will not regret reading and one that you soon won’t forget.
Links of interest: They Poured Fire From the Sky website (with lots of great resources), Judy Bernstein website. Maw Books reviews of What is the What by Dave Eggers, picture book Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams both about The Lost Boys of Sudan.
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: PublicAffairs. June 12, 2006.
Paperback, 336 pages. ISBN 1586483889
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
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Tags: A-D Author, Africa, Lost Boys of Sudan, male author, Non-Fiction, published 2006, Q-T Title, Sudan, war
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I love books like this too. I’m always amazed at the resilience of survivors of tragedies like this.
on December 9th, 2009 at 10:15 amI usually avoid these kind of books because they just make me feel so sad- and useless to help, it’s so far away. But I think I’ll add this one to my TBR. I feel it’s important to know what goes on in other parts of the world, and this book doesn’t look quite as bleak as some of the others I’ve seen.
on December 9th, 2009 at 10:31 amOh, your reading choices always make me feel like I’m not reading enough good books! (This is probably a good thing.) Hopefully I can start getting more books like this read.
on December 9th, 2009 at 11:45 amI read this earlier this year for a book club and was very affected by it – I have to admit I was unaware of much of what had gone on in the Sudan. I recently joined the Social Justice Challenge which I hope will keep books with topics like this one top of mind for me over the next 12 months.
Thanks for your review!
on December 13th, 2009 at 9:46 pmoops – just saw you are co-hosting the Social Justice Challenge. Thanks – its a great one!
on December 13th, 2009 at 9:47 pmThis is a book that I promised someone that I would read. I bought it, and it has been sitting on my TBR Shelf just waiting – waiting for maybe 2 years?!? I’m glad to see that you thought highly of it. That’s encouraging!
on December 27th, 2009 at 5:01 pm[...] Ajak, Benjamin (Sudanese, Publisher Site) They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan: Reviewed at Maw Books [...]
on January 25th, 2010 at 10:10 pm[...] Ajak, Benjamin (Sudanese, Publisher Site) They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan: Reviewed at Maw Books [...]
on January 26th, 2010 at 6:58 amA powerful book, that opened my eyes to what what has been happening in the Sudan for so long. I found this after watching the documentary _God Grew Tired of Us_. I read and reread many parts, and rushed off to the library to find out more about these ‘Lost Boys’ who showed such deep faith and resilience in unthinkable situations. Read it!!
on March 8th, 2010 at 4:48 pm